Fire Up the Lapsed-Donor Reactivation Machine!
First, let’s get this out of the way: Who is a lapsed donor? If your organization has a big event every two years, you might want to give a donor 24 months before you designate her “lapsed.” But for nonprofits that mail regularly, after 12 months of no activity, consider a donor lapsed.
Donors seldom keep track and know how long it has been since they last gave to your worthy cause. So, your job is to remind them gently — early and often. When nine months have passed without a donation (six months if the last donation was also the first and only one), it’s time to fire up the “lapsed-donor reactivation machine.”
Pamela Barden is an independent fundraising consultant focused on direct response. You can read more of her fundraising columns here.
